How longer stays can benefit your hosting business

Welcoming longer stays can be a smart hosting strategy. Listings that are open to bookings of 28 nights or more can outearn those that aren’t.*

Longer stays can also fill up your calendar faster, require less work from guest turnover, and provide greater hosting flexibility than shorter reservations.

Here’s how these key benefits of longer stays can support your hosting routine.

Hosting stays of 28 nights or longer can fill up your calendar quickly and with fewer bookings than shorter stays. It can also reduce the number of unwanted gaps between reservations, because you’ll have fewer guests checking in and out.

A calendar full of longer stays can create a steady, more predictable stream of income. You get paid in regular installments every 30 days or so.

One way to encourage these bookings is to offer monthly discounts. You can choose a flat rate for all stays of 28 nights or more, or you can set a different custom price for each calendar month.

Another approach is to make your community aware you’re offering longer stays. Some Hosts share links to their listings with local companies or universities whose employees, interns, or students may be seeking temporary stays.

Longer stays can simplify your hosting routine. Fewer guests generally mean lower turnover and less work associated with managing your bookings, particularly when it comes to messaging with guests and cleaning your space.

Consider how many messages you typically send to welcome multiple guests in a month, and compare that to hosting one guest who stays for 28 nights. Longer stays can dramatically reduce the effort it requires to communicate in a timely, effective way.

Lower turnover means you don’t have to clean your space as often to prepare for new arrivals. For tidying up during longer stays, some Hosts provide cleaning supplies that guests can use themselves, and some offer regular cleaning services.

“My two spaces have had a huge increase in longer stays—up to six weeks—from remote workers, families, and digital nomads since the pandemic started,” says Superhost Omar of Mexico City. “I offer free weekly cleaning, with clean linens and a restock of basics, so I can make sure everything is going well.”

Bookings of 28 nights or more can also be favorable in communities that limit short-term rentals. Make sure the minimum and maximum stays you set follow local rules and regulations.

If you’re in an area that allows both shorter and longer bookings, consider adjusting your settings periodically to meet your needs. This can help you make the most of seasonal demand in your area and also entice guests to book any nights or weeks available between your monthly stays.

Offering up your home when you’re away is another option. Co-Host Maggie of Northampton, Massachusetts, helped her parents welcome guests while they spent winters in Puerto Rico. Before that, she says, the space often sat empty for months.

Whether longer stays make up part—or all—of your hosting strategy, they can be a savvy way to keep your place booked and your hospitality efforts as efficient as possible.

*According to internal Airbnb data, listings that were open to both shorter and longer stays showed higher average earnings (11/2020-11/2021) than those that allowed only shorter stays across all regions except Asia.